If the blues have a truly mythic figure, it would be Robert Johnson whose story hangs over the blues much like Charlie Parker does over jazz or Hank Williams does over country. Robert Johnson stands at the crossroads of American music, so much that a legend tells that he stood at a Mississippi crossroads and sold his soul to the devil for guitar prowess. He was the first modern blues singer evolving the blues of the Mississippi Delta.

Robert was also a songwriter of great depth and a guitar player who commanded attention, he produced some of the best blues music ever. Among his admirers were none other then Keith Richards who said "When I first listened to him, I throught I was hearing two guitars, and it took me a while to realize he was doing it himself."

Of course, the legend Johnson left behind was fortified by the fact that he left a small number of recordings which remain the apex of the blues. Standards like "Crossroads", "Love In Vain" and "Stop Breakin' Down" haven't only entered the blues, but have also crossed over into rock and roll as artists from The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to Steve Miller have covered these songs.

While music historians tend to downplay his skills, Robert remains a powerful force to be reckoned with. Doomed, haunted, driven by demons, he died at a young age, all of these things added up in making him a blues legend.

In my mind, Eric Clapton is the man who Robert Johnson influenced in terms of guitar playing. Clapton even said "Robert Johnson in my opinion is the most important blues singer ever to live. I've never found anything more deeply soulful then the music of Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful thing that you can find in the human voice."

Posted by Andrew on Thursday, 05/23/2013 @ 12:53pm

Last week I was driving around the great state of Mississippi, on their Blues Trail, and I stopped and visited one of the places that Johnson is allegedly buried. This is the spot outside a church, a few miles northwest of Greenwood, MS. Most historians have come to a consensus that the Granddaddy of R 'n R is indeed buried there, because of eyewitness accounts. But it was very thrilling to check out. Even more cool is the fact that Robert Plant was literally there 15 years ago.

Posted by Jason Voigt on Tuesday, 08/6/2024 @ 10:52am

Pretty cool, Jason! Glad you are out there having a great time. If you can, come on over to Louisville in late Sep. to check out Bourbon & Beyond or Louder Than Life fests.

I will be at both fests on Th and Sun.

Posted by Paul in KY on Wednesday, 08/7/2024 @ 11:16am